Heel guard



. E- K- MARTIN Get. 20, 1964 HEEL GUARD Filed June 17, 1963 INVENTOR. EDNA K. MARTIN avg uwxawm ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,153,289 HEEL GUARD Edna K. Martin, 57 Qrestrnont Drive, San Francisco, Calif. Filed June 17, 1963, Ser. No. 238,179 1 Claim. (Cl. 36-42) This invention relates to new and useful improvements in heel guards.

A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a new and novel heel guard for ladies shoes which fully covers the heel and upper rear portions of the shoe to protect such most vulnerable shoe portions from damge.

Another object is to provide a device of the type described having novel structure facilitating convenient attachment and removal.

Still another object is to provide a heel guard for ladies shoes which is simple in structure and inexpensive to manufacture.

Briefly stated, the invention is embodied in a glove-like member which is constructed and arranged for attachment to the rear portion of the shoe and designed to prevent damage to the heel and upper rear portion of the shoe. The device has a bottom pocket portion in which the lower section of the heel is confined and is open at the front above the pocket portion for fitting around the sides of the shoe and the foot. The upper end of the heel guard has a form-retaining, resilient clip of oval shape having disconnected ends adjacent the front opening of the guard in order that the front opening may temporarily be widened for application or removal of the device.

The invention will be better understood and additional objects thereof will become more apparent from the accompanying specification and claim considered together with the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals of reference indicate like parts and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective View of the present device; and

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 but showing the device applied to a shoe.

Referring now in particular to the drawings, the heel guard of the present invention is designated generally by the numeral and comprises a glove-like member preferably formed of a flexible material such as cloth, sheet plastic, leather or the like. It is designed for fitting on the rear portion of a ladys shoe 12.

The guard 10 is closed at its rear portion but has a front opening 14 extending downwardly from the upper end and terminating upwardly from the lower end to form a bottom pocket 16. The lower end of the opening 14 is designated by the numeral 17.

The upper end of the device is open and has attached thereto an oval spring clip 18 having disconnected ends 20. In a preferred construction, the upper end of the material of the device is folded over inwardly and stitched or otherwise secured along the edges of the folded portion to form a pocket 22 for confining the spring clip, the end portions of the pocket 22 being closed, such as by stitching, to positively confine said clip in the pocket.

In the general contour of the device, it has an upper substantially oval portion 24 and a lower narrow or tapered portion 26, the latter portion having dimensions at its lower or pocket end 16 capable of receiving the heel of a shoe. In this regard, the height of the device and the extent of taper and the width and length measurements of the bottom pocket are dependent upon the type of shoe to 3,153,289. Patented Get. 20, 1964 which the device is to be applied. The type shown on the drawings is designed for high heel shoes but other dimensions are provided for various designs of shoes with lower heels.

The bottom tapered portion of the device is defined by a rear, inwardly angled and gently curved wall portion 23 and a front, inwardly angled and gently curved portion 30. The wall portion 28 is selectively angled substantially to conform to the angular disposition of the shoe heel with regard to the rear portion of the shoe and the angular curved portion 30 is selectively shaped to conform to the curved configuration of the sides of the shoe and foot.

To apply the present device to a shoe, the front opening 14 is widened sufiiciently such that the device can be moved forwardly onto the rear portion of the shoe. The heel is inserted on the pocket 16 and upon releasing the edges at the opening 14- the upper end of the device springs back to its original or normal position to gently grip the leg above the ankle protrusions. The spring clip 18 thus firmly holds the device on the shoe and leg whereupon the most vulnerable portions of the shoe are protected. The device is particularly useful to prevent damage to the shoes when the lady is driving an automobile. Also, it is apparent that the present device protects areas with which the heel comes in contact such as automobile carpets, house floors, etc.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herein shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the subjoined claim.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A heel guard for ladies shoes comprising a tubular member having an open top and a closed bottom and being of a height such that the open top is adapted to encircle the wearers leg above the ankle, said tubular memher having a front opening extending from the upper end to a point short of the bottom to form a pocket at said bottom for receiving the lower portion of a shoe heel, said tubular member being flexible whereby it is adapted to be expanded at said front opening for receiving the rear portion of a shoe and having forward and rear walls the lower portions of which are curved to form a gently curved downwardly tapering configuration, the curved portion of the forward wall of the tubular member extending upwardly an amount whereby the portions of said forward wall adjacent the front opening are adapted to lead around the sides of the shoe and the foot of the wearer, and an open ended spring clip secured to the upper end of the tubular member for maintaining said guard in a tubular shape but allowing said fiont opening to be expanded temporarily for receiving the rear portion of a shoe therethrough.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,274,692 Davis Aug. 6, 1918 1,528,254 McConnell Mar. 3, 1925 1,571,466 Barthes Feb. 2, 1926 2,894,339 Shapiro July 14, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 640,150 France Mar. 24, 1928 

